Valley Health

Top of VirginiaTwo recent and independent assessments show that the population of northern Virginia has access to some of the best medical treatment to be found anywhere, as Jeff Daniels learns. Last year 3,066 babies were delivered at the five hospitals making up Valley HealthÔÇöa group of not-for-profit healthcare providers located along a 100-mile stretch of the Shenandoah Valley running through rural Virginia, West Virginia and even into Maryland. At the other end of the age spectrum, the baby boomers of the ÔÇÖ40s and ÔÇÖ50s are also growing in number.Thanks to their not-for-profit charter, charges at the five hospitals in the group often are up to 40 percent less than the average of all other Virginian hospitals. At the same time, Valley Health last year administered charity and uncompensated care that amounted to over $56 million, or over 10 percent of net patient revenue. This figure is up almost half since 2005. Not surprisingly, there is considerable strain on capacity.By far the largest hospital in the group is the Winchester Medical Center. As a level II trauma center and a major referral hospital for a region covering three states, adding critical care bed capacity is a priority for WMC.At its inception in 1903 the WMC had 39 beds, a figure thatÔÇÖs grown to 411 over the years and will jump to 445 if a recently submitted application for a Certificate of Public Need is granted. The campus expansion project includes 348,000 square feet of new space, 65,000 square feet of renovated space, and 139,000 square feet of shell space.┬á The largest component of the multi-part expansion plan is a six-level tower, built above the emergency department. The tower will include an expanded emergency department and an innovative 20-bed observation unit, which will allow emergency room patients and others to be observed for up to 23 hours without actually being admitted to a hospital bed. The observation unit is an important part of the diagnostic process intended to provide patients with medical attention so that no one needs to be turned away in the future, while stopping short of immediately occupying any of the limited beds. Other elements of the plan are a 48-bed critical care unit, an expanded newborn intensive care unit and the well-newborn nursery.┬á Valley Health, as itÔÇÖs known today, was incorporated in 1993 when Winchester Medical Center and Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal joined forces to serve the region. Over the years Shenandoah Memorial Hospital in Woodstock and Hampshire Memorial Hospital in Romney have joined. While not a full affiliate, War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs is also managed by Valley Health.┬á In total, Valley Health has a combined 551 licensed inpatient beds and 150 long-term care beds. The system is supported by over 4,500 employees, with a medical staff of nearly 500 and total revenues of a half billion dollars.While the public is voting with its feet, itÔÇÖs always encouraging when an institution gets a more formal recognition of its worth. In the nursing world, one of the highest votes of confidence is to be awarded Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Applying for this award is not for the faint-hearted. The documentation alone amounts to 15 inches in depth. Of the hospitals that commit to an application, only about two-thirds receive an inspection from ANCC, and of those, just over half achieve the Magnet designation on the first try. Winchester Medical started its quest in 2004 and in September this year joined a very exclusive band of hospitalsÔÇöless than 300 in the entire countryÔÇöwith Magnet status. And on the first attempt.Not only does being a Magnet hospital signify that the patient care program has been named one of the best in the nation, but it is also one of the most important factors in enlisting high-caliber physicians and specialists. Magnet status becomes an attractive force that extends to the entire organization.Some of the hospitals in the group have only 20 or 30 beds, but they are no less advanced. This year Shenandoah Memorial Hospital has been named one of the nationÔÇÖs ÔÇ£Most Wired Small and Rural Hospitals.ÔÇØ This is a measure of how IT is contributing to patient wellbeing. According to the survey, the 100 Most Wired hospitals show better outcomes in patient satisfaction, risk-adjusted mortality rates and other key quality measures through the use of information technology.┬á All in all, top marks for Top of Virginia hospitals.┬á